People who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism after their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's decision to meet with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The organization is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," they remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who took the position in May, has taken on this persistent issue that has haunted the Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the institution and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Connection
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate revealed they were victimized by a priest who was later moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Multiple members of the organization, which represents victims and supporters from more than 30 countries, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
They added the Pope was "tender" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is advocating that revisions to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," they noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they told the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, they voiced optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a relationship and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," they stated.
They added that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."
